Saturday's race sucked, plain and simple. There's no point in sugar-coating it - I'm gonna call a spade a spade and tell it like it is: I ran terribly. I got buried at the start, was in 25th place at the mile, and kept going backward from there. The 21 minutes and 40 seconds it took me to cover the muddy, hilly 6 kilometers were pretty torturous. I ended up finishing in 50th place, well back from where I finished in 2011. Oof.
What happened? Hard to say. A lot of factors could have contributed to the bad race - a tweaked hamstring, working long hours, getting ready to move across the country... Maybe it's the combination of them all. But whatever the cause, it sure wasn't my mental state. I thought I was ready, I believed I was ready. It wasn't in the cards on Saturday, but I believe I'll be ready again down the road...
I was mad and sad for a little while, but I learned long ago that dwelling on a bad race doesn't do anyone any good - not you, not your teammates, not your support system of friends and family. You can't win 'em all; as sure as the sky is blue, there will be times when things don't go your way. So when it doesn't, you've got to learn to deal with it.
An old, wise coach once counseled me that after a bummer of a race, you can be upset for the length of your cooldown, but once those 15-20 minutes have passed, it's time to pick yourself up and move on. There's a finite amount of time to dwell and to pout. S*** happens; take some time to be pissed, some time to reflect, and then look ahead.
So that's what I did. I shed a few tears, mourned the bad race, and then proceeded to have a hell of a good time in Kentucky!
And so like my team, I'm looking ahead to 2013 and the exciting opportunities it will bring, both in running and in life. But before that, I've got to move out of my apartment in San Francisco! Off to pack...!
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| My face says it all - "Where's that damn finish line? Is this over yet?" |
I was mad and sad for a little while, but I learned long ago that dwelling on a bad race doesn't do anyone any good - not you, not your teammates, not your support system of friends and family. You can't win 'em all; as sure as the sky is blue, there will be times when things don't go your way. So when it doesn't, you've got to learn to deal with it.
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| Not a happy camper... |
So that's what I did. I shed a few tears, mourned the bad race, and then proceeded to have a hell of a good time in Kentucky!
First step in turning that frown upside down: eat some chocolate!
Step 2 - go to Hugh Jass Burgers (for a good laugh, say that one aloud!) and devour a 10 ounce burger.
Step 3 - surround yourself with the best of friends and enjoy the moment!
Despite my poor individual performance, I was proud to rep NBSV and toe the line with these ladies. As a team, we finished 8th - not the overall result we'd hoped for, but it was our highest-ever placing at this meet and we were the top California team. We're down, but not out, and I'm confident we'll continue the upward trend in 2013.
And so like my team, I'm looking ahead to 2013 and the exciting opportunities it will bring, both in running and in life. But before that, I've got to move out of my apartment in San Francisco! Off to pack...!
